This is our specimen lake that holds quality fish of
several species. It is a former excavation with the soil removed being
used to construct the nearby A428 crossing over the river Great Ouse
and has been established as a fishery since 1987.

There is ample car parking within the complex and vehicles can be parked directly behind many of the swims to give members peace of mind. The lake is about 20 acres in size with more than 2000 yards of bank space available for fishing. The lake is not round but instead consists of a number of large bays that are roughly in the shape of a gingerbread man so hence the name.

The depth of the lake varies from circa 4ft to more than 18ft with an
average of 7-9ft. There are about 70 swims around the lake and fish are
regularly caught from all areas throughout the year.

Members may use up to 4 rods in their chosen swim provided that they
have purchased two rod licences but often it can a case of too many cooks
spoiling the broth! Barbed hooks are permitted and there are no bait restrictions
although members have been requested not to use too much low-grade spod
to avoid souring the water.

The predominant species is carp with
the current lake records standing at 34lbs for mirror carp and 29lbs
10oz for commons but larger specimens are known to be present. One
of these is a plated mirror that was last caught weighing a mere
20lbs but has been estimated to now weigh over 35lbs but has proven
to be an elusive beast.

The largest reported specimen caught in 2004 was a mirror weighing 33lbs
(see photo) caught by Mike Smith from Offley.Kevin Webb from Gamlingay
was not far behind catching an immaculate 32lbs mirror (see photo). There
have been several different 30s caught from the lake this year and their
numbers continue to increase as our stock fish grow. The water was stocked
initially with carp from Wrest Park, Silsoe and Stanborough Lake, Welwyn
GC.

There have been further stockings of mirror carp from Fisher Pond, commons
and fully-scaled mirrors from Bedwell Fish Farm and a large number of
mirror carp from a private lake near Ely. All the fish stocked have shown
excellent growth rates, for example, the Fisher Pond fish introduced in
1995 weighing between 3-7lbs have already grown to more than 30lbs and
are still putting the pounds on each year. They are a fast growing German
strain that is now one of the most sought after strains in the country.
However, their growth rate has been matched by the fish obtained from
Bedwell and Ely stocked in later years. Some of these stockfish have already
exceeded the 20lb mark. The lake’s current stock is estimated to
exceed 500 doubles with more than 100 of these over 20lbs with around
10 different 30s.

In addition to the stocked fish, the lake is subject to occasional flooding
from the nearby river and these floods have brought an influx of foreign
fish with, at least, 50 doubles up to the high 20s entering via this route.
An estimated 150-200 carp over 20lbs were caught from the lake in 2004
with Derek Munro from Biggleswade taking a 7 fish haul of carp weighing
between 20-28lbs. Derek was unlucky to lose a number of fish in dense
weed, at least, one of which was estimated to exceed 30lbs.

The carp can be found in all areas of the lake and many are taken from
the near margins. In the height of summer large beds of lilies and milfoil
grow. Many of the carp seek the shelter of these natural sanctuaries.
Carp to over 30lbs have been caught on floaters but waterfowl can make
this a frustrating method. Boilies, sweet corn and particles are baits
that have all accounted for plenty of fish during the year. Artificial
baits (e.g. plastic corn) have accounted for a good number of carp too.

If you are not fortunate to get a night permit immediately, do not despair
as the vast majority of carp have been caught during the daytime this
year.

There is a good head of bream in the lake with specimens
weighing up to 12lbs as many of the carp fishermen will testify to.
Springtime is an especially good time to catch them when the fish
feed freely throughout the day and night prior to spawning.

The average size is around the 5-7lb mark but smaller skimmers can be
caught on float tackle. The bigger fish are regularly caught on boilies
and can be drawn into swims by heavy baiting. A picture of an 11lb 8oz
bream caught by Rob Packer from Sandy has been included to show the quality
of bream fishing that is available.

Seldom fished for but present are some very large and
elusive rudd with specimens over 3.5lbs being caught accidentally
by carp anglers on boilies! The fish are thought to have entered the
lake during flood conditions and are sometimes mistaken for carp when
rolling far out in the lake.

Anglers Mail columnist, Andy Little, had a go for them in 2004 but they
proved to be elusive on the day. The few that have been caught over the
years have taken boilies or float-fished maggots but floaters are always
a good bet.

Pike have been caught up to 29lbs since the fishery
was opened although a 32lb specimen was found dead one year. Every
year several specimens over 20lb are caught but they are not easy
to locate and often prove to be elusive.

Simon Pask from Bedford caught a specimen weighing 22lbs during a pike
match in 2005. One of the more productive areas in the lake is Deep Bay
where shoals of silver fish congregate in the winter months.

These food fish are regularly pursued by numbers of pike close to the
surface during this time of the year. In the springtime, some big specimens
have been spotted close to the margins waiting to attack spawning roach
and rudd.

Roach and Perch abound in the lake with the former being
caught up to 2lbs and the latter to nearly 4lbs in 2004. The roach
have become more numerous following several years of cormorant depredation
that finally seems to be abating. The lake has received two large
stockings of roach, the last stocking numbering circa 8000 fish.

Large perch have been often guilty of taking small roach off anglers’
lines although few anglers have tried to deliberately target them.

A number of chub are present with a recently caught specimen weighing
over 6lbs being caught by Paul Webb from St Neots. These fish have mostly
entered the lake from the nearby river during floods as have dace and
bleak. Pike anglers using dead baits have caught Eels over 5lbs with DeepBay
being a good area. Please note that all eels caught must be returned to
the water unharmed to preserve this species that is nationally in decline.

The periodic flooding of the nearby river Ouse means that it not possible
to know all that the lake holds and rumours of some exotic species abound
but largely remain as rumours!